TriMet announces plans to plug budget hole for Milwaukie light rail

TriMetAs shown in this rendering, MAX will build the first downtown crossing of the Willamette since 1973. The bridge will link South Waterfront, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry and the industrial east side.

MILWAUKIE – David Unsworth told a crowd last night gathered at Milwaukie's monthly light rail meeting that TriMet has identified local targets to help plug a $137 million gap in the Portland-Milwaukie light rail extension project.

He would not release the source names.

Unsworth, TriMet's project development manager, addressed Milwaukie officials and residents with Leah Robbins, TriMet's East Segment director for the project, in the city's first light rail meeting since the federal government announced last month that federal commitment to the project would be smaller than expected.

"A lot of scenarios are swirling around right now," Unsworth said. "But we'll be making surgical cuts that meet the purpose of the environmental impact statement."

He said project cuts will be announced in the next two months.

Despite the 10 percent budget gap, the project is slated to stay on schedule and project partners have agreed not to make safety, service or aesthetic concessions to fill the budget hole, Unsworth said Monday night. Still, some elements, such as proposed parking lots, may be deferred to save money.

"At the start, we identified $97 million that could be cut from the project," he said. "We're trying to come up with ways now to diminish as many of those cuts as we can."

Milwaukie's community development and public works director, Kenny Asher, said the city has proposed a redesign of the planned Lake Road platform to save money. The change would make the platform, located at the intersection of S.E. Bluebird Street and S.E. River Street, a single centered structure from the originally proposed double split platform.

The city of Milwaukie does not anticipate contributing more than its $5 million commitment to the Portland-Milwaukie light rail extension, which is expected to cost $1.4 billion.

The city will hold a work session and public comment on the light rail project with TriMet officials at 6 p.m. on Aug. 31 at City Hall, 10722 S.E. Main St.